Sunny Nights
by CorrodedLeaves
Summary: This is my first story. Set after the Day of the Black Sun, Sunny Nights follows Zuko and Katara's relationship from the first time the meet onwards, as they and their relationship mature.
1. Chapter 1

"Hi. Zuko here."

Katara stared for a full minute, during which Zuko stared resolutely at the wall over her head, before springing to her feet and pulling the water out of her pouch, which she froze and split into dozens of thick shards which surrounded Zuko. _Well, I'm impressed. You're an excellent water bender. _Ignoring the awkward attempt at introduction, she got directly to the point: "What on earth are you doing here?"

Zuko shifted awkwardly. "Um, hi-" he began. Katara's eyes blazed with a fire that was jarringly out of place in her blue irises. Zuko felt his insides shrinking, but he didn't flinch. Katara seemed even more aggravated by the show of stoicism. He could hear a voice snapping somewhere inside his head, and he concentrated on that to avoid the intensity of Katara's glare.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You've got a lot of nerve, coming here like this, I'll give you that," Sokka was fuming. He paced for a while, scratching his chin and mumbling something under his breath. Every once in a while, he stopped and glared at the offending fire bender.

Zuko coughed and shifted on his feet. _Why on earth did I leave everything in the palace for this? _"Actually, I, uh, heard the Avatar needed a new firebending teacher," he offered. It sounded lame, even to him.

The group stared at him. Toph started to giggle. Sokka looked at him like he was crazy. Katara gave one derisive snort, which she managed to perfect while maintaining her murderous look. _I gave up Mai for this. _

Aang looked thoughtful. "Okay, that didn't come out quite as convincing as I'd hoped," Zuko amended. Toph burst out laughing.

"No, it didn't," said Katara, throwing Toph a dirty look. "And what do you mean, 'hoped'? Are you trying to worm your way into the group, _Prince _Zuko? Do you honestly think that we'd trust you to even come _near _Aang?"

"Katara, stop it!" Aang said. He put himself in front of Zuko. "See? He hasn't firebended his way out. And he's not attacking me. And Appa likes him." It was true; Appa was busily trying to lick Zuko through the spears of ice.

"Could we just hear him out, Sugar Queen, or is that not fair by your rules?" Toph demanded through her subsiding gales of laughter. Katara huffed and remained standing. The others sat down. Zuko coughed. Something was stuck in his throat.

He began speaking slowly and uncertainly. "I'm here because I finally understand what my uncle has been saying for years now. I should never have gone back to a family that never wanted me to come home." Katara sat down and gave a spectacularly superior eye roll and mouthed the words _no, really?_. Zuko's mouth tightened, but he continued. "You've seen my sister. You know what she's like. Imagine the man who raised her." Zuko swallowed. His throat was feeling dry and something was building up above his heart. He raised his head and looked at Aang. "I chased the Avatar-- I chased _you _--for three years because I was banished. I was banished because I stood up to my father." He looked at each of them, willing the uncomfortable feeling away from his frozen skin. They all looked at him, even Katara, even Toph out of instinct, though she could see nothing, but the rest of them saw his face and the glossy purple disfiguration and suddenly it seemed so much uglier and at the same time so much more a part of Zuko.

Zuko closed his eyes. _Whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face. _"I returned to my family after Ba Sing Se." Katara made an angry noise, but he quieted her by fixing her with a steady gaze. "I shouldn't have done that. I know." Suddenly it became much harder to breath. He was acutely aware of the ice pressing on his stomach, hands, feet. "My father… I saw him for what he really was, then. A tyrant who cared little about his people- or his family. He imprisoned my uncle. He didn't care about me. He didn't even care about Azula. He just cared about expanding the borders of the Fire Nation. It was meaningless. The borders had no meaning for him. War was the only thing he had left after betraying everyone around him. He would kill everyone in a town if it meant it would become Fire Nation territory." Katara, Sokka, and Aang all winced. _We can't win without making some sacrifices. _He ignored them. The words were flowing out of his mouth faster now.

"I confronted my father after the eclipse. I told him I was going to join your group. He laughed at me at first. Then he shot lightning at me." Something burned at the bottom of his eyes. The full realization of what his father had done- he shot lighning at him, _he shot _lightning _at me- _hit him, and he staggered and swayed within his icy prison. He was very tired. He had stood awake all the way there. He was very uncomfortable. He wanted to lie down.

Zuko tried to speak, but his throat wouldn't let him. He coughed. "I deflected it. I went to break my uncle out of prison, but he wasn't there. He'd already escaped." More coughing.

"I took a ballon from my father's war rooms, and I followed you here. My uncle never wanted me to chase the Avatar. My uncle was a good man. He taught me how to be a good person- kind, just, intelligent, empathetic- _forgiving. _I should have listened to him earlier."

There was silence for a while, during which Zuko tried to figure out if he needed to say anything else, and Katara tried to figure out what ulterior motive was hidden behind the speech. Toph stood up before any of them could say anything.

"That's right," said Toph, "you should have listened to your uncle. We met him a while ago. He's a great man. But you're here now, and I'm ready to forgive you." She spread her arms wide and stomped her foot. Pillars of earth shot up under the water, sending them into the ravine, before retracting. Zuko was free. He collapsed onto the hard ground.

Katara leapt to her feet. "What was that for? He's Zuko, prince of the _Fire _Nation, son of _Fire Lord Ozai. _He can't be trusted." She shot him a dirty look. "Believe me, I know."

Zuko cringed. Toph frowned. Sokka stood up, brushing off his tunic. "Didn't you hear his story, Katara? He's the _twice-exiled _prince of the Fire Nation, and Ozai disowned him. It makes sense. Everything fits. I believe him." He walked forward and stuck out his hand. Zuko shook it with a limp arm. It looked like Sokka was shaking a wet towel.

"I think Zuko's right, Katara," said Aang quietly. "And I do need a firebending teacher."

"I can't believe you-"

"Give it up, Katara," said Toph tiredly. "He was telling the truth. The whole time. He really does mean it."

"He could be lying," Katara countered. "Azula could beat your sensors."

"You're not as good as Azula is at lying, are you, Mr. Hotpants?"

Zuko raised his head and looked at her. "Hotpants?" he said, smiling weakly. "No, I'm pretty cold."

"That was terrible, Sparky, and you know it."

"Sparky. Wonderful."

Katara was near exploding. "Toph!"

"What?"

"I can't believe you're-- you're--"

"You can't believe I'm what? You can't believe I'm actually getting along with the newest addition to our group?" Toph turned back to Zuko and was about to say something to him when Katara started talking again.

"Who said anything about a newest addition?"

"Yeah," said Teo, who had just arrived. Haru and the Duke stood beside him. "Who's a newest addition to our group?"

Katara turned back to Zuko and pulled the water from the fountain to freeze him into the wall.

Toph let out a frustrated cry and used her earthbending to push the ice from around Zuko, who was too tired to care about what happened to him anymore. "Katara! What was that for?"

"There are small children around," Katara snapped defensively. "Who knows what he could have done to them?"

"Objection," said Teo, "We are not small kids. Maybe the Duke, but Haru and I-"

"Hey, I'm not a kid either," said the Duke mildly. He had walked over to Zuko and was poking him. He turned and looked at Katara admiringly. "Just like Jet," he said. Zuko gently pushed away the small finger and stood up with an enormous effort.

"Jet?" he said, directing it towards Katara. She ignored him. He turned to Toph. "Who's Jet?"

"Don't look at me, Sparky. I wasn't there. All I know is he used Katara and they got all kissy-kissy and then-"

"Shut up, Toph," Katara hissed venomously. Zuko suppressed the juvenile snigger that threatened to escape him.

"I knew Jet, too," he said. Katara snorted. "I bet you were great friends, weren't you?"

"No," said Zuko quietly. "But Jet tried to enlist me on the boat as a Freedom Fighter." The Duke smiled. "That's what I am!" he said proudly. Zuko looked down at the small boy that stood by his waist. "Really?" he said, smiling. "But I'm not, because Jet found out I was a firebender."

"You're a firebender?" asked Teo. The Duke backed away. "You're Fire Nation?"

Aang watched as Zuko's face fell in a way that would have been comical if it wasn't so heartbreaking. "I'm on your side now," Zuko said. He sat down. That lump in his throat was there again. "I'm with you. I've come to teach Aang." He looked at the Duke. "I promise." He stood up and extended his hand to Haru. "Hi," he said. "I'm Zuko." Haru shook it warily. "As in Ozai's son, Zuko?"

Zuko's lips tightened. "Not anymore," he said. Haru smiled warily. Zuko shook hands with Teo and the Duke.

"Teo," said Teo.

"And I'm the Duke. With a 'the' in front."

"I'll remember that," said Zuko. He looked around. "Is there any possibility of a nap, maybe? I'm really exhausted-"

"Oh, _you're _exhausted. Yeah, the rest of us? We're doing great, too, thanks, running on no sleep and trying to make this place habitable _humans-_"

"Katara, we're getting _plenty_ of sleep at night," Sokka intervened. "Maybe you could give Zuko one of the rooms and help him set it up. I'll just wait here-"

"I'm not helping Mr. Princypants with anything, thank you very much!"

"Princypants?" said Zuko painedly. The Duke giggled. Teo smiled and Toph snorted: "Leave the nicknames to me, Sugar Queen."

Zuko was thoroughly tempted to make a smartass remark about Toph's nickname for Katara, but decided it might not be prudent to anger the one person who was likely to kill him. _Seriously, though, Sugar Queen? _

"It's fine," said Zuko hurriedly. "I'll just explore." He sidled off quickly in the direction of one of the hallways. Toph followed him.

"Sorry about Katara, Hotpants."

Zuko rubbed his throbbing head. "It's not a big deal. I understand her…sentiments."

Toph snorted. "Really."

Zuko said nothing. He didn't know if Katara had told anyone else what had happened under Ba Sing Se, and he didn't want to risk incurring her wrath again.

"You know, Hotpants," said Toph casually, "Sugar Queen never gets this angry unless she has a good reason to. _Never. _I mean a good personal reason. Like with Jet."

Zuko looked at her. "I'm not sure I want you to tell me this."

Toph smiled, but her sightless eyes stared ahead. "Jet used her, the first time, to help him wipe out an entire village. She didn't realize what was going on. From what Sokka and Aang say, she had a major crush on him."

"But you weren't there."

"No. I joined later."

"Right. So what happened to him?"

"She saw him again in Ba Sing Se. That must have been after you met him. I was there for that. She got really mad at him. She's never even gotten that mad at me."

"I think I can tell you how it feels like."

Toph stopped. "You can sleep here. You might have to fix it up a little, but if you want anything, you'd have to ask Twinkletoes of Snoozles. I don't do that kind of stuff."

She marched out of the room. Zuko hurried after her. _Twinkletoes? Snoozles? _

"These are the baths," she announced, pointing to a large door. Zuko knocked cautiously. "It's okay," she said. "No one's in there. Normally, girls go in the morning. Guys go in the evenings. You should remember that; I don't think you want to walk in on Katara bathing in a tub full of _water." _Zuko nodded. He felt a little dizzy.

"You okay, Hotpants?" said Toph, turning around. "Or are you always this quiet?"

Zuko managed a weak smile down at her. "I'm just intimidated," he said.

"By who, Katara or me?"

"Both," he said, laughing. "I always get intimidated by girls."

"Really? I always pictured you as the arrogant I'm-so-great type."

"No, you're thinking of yourself."

"Hey," said Toph in mock irritation, "no teasing till you know my name."

"I'll just call you Hogmonkey."

"I'm not a hogmonkey!"

"You could have fooled me," teased Zuko gently. "I got confused by the smell."

"Well, I'm Toph Bei Fong, Earth Rumble Champion and the best earthbender in the world."

For some reason Zuko didn't doubt her. "Okay," he said.

"You okay, Hotpants?" she said. "Your vibrations are crazy."

_Vibrations? _he wanted to ask, but his head was spinning. "Can I go back to my room? I'm feeling a little dizzy."

He had no time for thoughts before he fell into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Katara was furiously stirring the breakfast that morning when Aang and Sokka trooped in. "Morning, sister dear," said Sokka. "What's in that magical pot of yours? I could eat an ostrich-horse."

"The same thing we have every day," she shot back angrily. "Except this time there's more."

"It was really nice of you to think of Zuko, Katara," said Aang. "He must be hungry after his long trip here."

"You're right. He must be hungry. He can live on en empty stomach for a day or two, though," Katara said nastily. "I'm taking this to Momo."

Sokka and Aang exchanged looks. Katara pranced out of the room, nearly colliding into Toph. A little of the porridge spilled onto her hair. Toph felt on the top of her head and sucked it off her finger.

"Oh, yay. Porridge again." Toph smiled, licking her fingers. Katara made a face at the lumpy bits of white goo still in Toph's hair. "And this time," announced the earthbender, "there's hair in it, too."

"Very funny, Toph," said Katara tiredly. "Now move so I can take this to-"

"Hotpants, wonderful. For a moment there I thought you were going to take that bowl to Momo." She laughed loudly and insincerely. "Now _that _would be mean. And as we all know, Sugar Queen is _never _mean," she added, drawing out the "never" until it stretched out obnoxiously and wrapped tight around Katara's conscience.

Zuko chose the worst possible moment to appear in the hallway.

"Hogmonkey, is the bath- oh. Good morning, Katara." The name sounded foreign in his mouth. He tried it again. "Is that breakfast I see, Katara?" It sounded too informal, somehow, to be greeting someone who hated his guts (and good reason).

Katara fumed. "Don't call me that," she snapped, and turned around. Zuko frowned at her back, bemused. "What, Katara?" he said.

Katara whirled round and tossed the contents of the bowl in his face.

"I said don't call me that," she said. "And there's your breakfast." The dripping bowl in her hand left little spongy white marks on the stone slabs as she walked away.

Toph laughed. "This is great," she said between spasms of giggles, shaking her head. "I'll never be bored again. See you at breakfast, Hotpants." She reached up and grabbed at his face, coming away with porridge-covered fingers.

Zuko watched her walk away sucking her stubby little fingers and groaned._ At least Katara's the only one who hates me. _

"Hey, Sifu Zuko," Aang said chirpily when Zuko appeared. "When does training start?"

"Whenever you want," said Zuko. "We won't be using fire on the first day. It'll be all about breathing. It's the most important part of firebending."

"Right," said Aang solemnly.

Zuko was surprised by the calm reaction. "Don't you want to use fire? When I was taught firebending, I threw such a big tantrum when they tried to teach me control that the instructors gave up and let me do whatever I wanted."

Katara snorted. "A tantrum?"

Zuko's cheeks turned red, and he willed himself not to lash out at her. _I'm not a prince anymore. And she's not a peasant. _"I was a four-year-old prince, all right?"

"I'd like to see Hotpants throw a tantrum," said Toph musingly, licking her bowl. "You never to anything exciting."

"There's no winning with you, is there, hogmonkey?" he said teasingly. "You'll be facing Ozai and you'll be bored."

"It all depends on Ozai. Is your family more interesting than you?"

"Probably, if you think having a hole in your back is exciting," Aang put in.

"Like they could touch me with their wussy little lightning sticks."

"Lucky Zuko hasn't learned to create lightning then," said Katara nastily. "Otherwise you _might _end up with a hole in your back."

"Let it go, Sugar Queen," said Toph tiredly. "Or at least have a fight. Don't just make pathetic little verbal insults."

"I'm not sure I want to fight you-"

"Scared? Oh, let me coddle you, poor little Zuko," said Katara in a baby voice. She pulled water out of the fountain and froze it to Zuko's body. _Aren't you a big girl now?_

Zuko growled and melted the water with his breath of fire. He leapt up and conjured twin fire whips, lashing them at Katara's feet. She made two arcs of ice and cut them halfway through. "You stole our village's peace, you stole my necklace, and now you steal my moves?" said Katara incredulously. "What else are you going to steal?"

"I didn't steal your necklace," Zuko said, running headfirst towards her. She raised a thin wall of ice and he put his flaming hand in front of him and the wall shattered like glass-

And was picked up again and melted in her hands as she spun around and raised a vapor around her body. Zuko ran round it and up to the edge of the fountain and used it to kick off as he spun in the air over the cloud, shooting a circle of fire at it. He landed lightly and Katara came after him, pulling her cloud after her, shaping it into a million little spears and hurling them at him. _Like Mai's senbon, _Zuko thought as he turned to see them coming and dropped flat on the ground, shooting fire at Katara's feet. She made a plucking motion with her hands and the ice zoomed back from the wall where it would have pinned Zuko if he had been half a second slower.

Katara jumped to avoid the searing heat coming at her legs and twisted so she was flat on her back in midair, and she was about to land straight on Zuko when he rolled to the side and jumped up, so she landed on flagstones instead, and she stood straight and whirled to face the tornados of fire that she felt coming, and she deflected them all and sent her own spinning water tunnels towards him, growing larger and larger-

But he melted their ends easily and shot twin fires through them. Katara felt the warmth coming closer and dropped the tunnels on the floor, freezing them as Zuko ran towards her again. He didn't slip an inch, just ran straight at her- _What on earth is he doing?_- she thought, but then he was there and he pushed her- _Like five year olds playing- _he thought ruefully, _and not like two almost-adults._ She fell on the ground and he almost did, but he saw the glinting spear of ice she had in her hand and he breathed out a tiny flame concentrated on that spear as he was falling-

"That's enough," said Aang sharply. "You both are too old to think violence is going to solve this."

"Shut up, Twinkletoes, I was enjoying it," said Toph.

"I dunno," said Sokka. "I feel like I've seen all those moves before."

"You're right," agreed Haru. "With the water-arcs and all. Just like in the submarines before the invasion, except icier."

"I wouldn't know," said Teo. "I don't know if I've ever seen her waterbend before."

"Zuko, though," said Sokka. "I've never seen those fire-whips before. You know what they remind me of? Katara's water-whips. I remember her learning those. In fact, she was practicing them at night with a stolen scroll - she'd put us all to sleep with some leaves she puts in our water-when Zuko here ties her to a tree. He says he has her necklace…"

Katara rolled her eyes as Sokka jumped into a thoroughly embellished version of the story about the pirates.

"I'm going to take a bath," she said sourly, and left with Toph, leaving a winded Zuko and a group of laughing boys.

**A/N- Sorry it's so short. I'll do better next time- I'm just kind of pressed for time. Which is why this chapter sucks. Sorry. **


End file.
